Winston, No. 11 FSU rout Pitt

Manuel led the Seminoles to an ACC title and an Orange Bowl win last season,
but Winston showed Monday there could be bigger things on the horizon by
throwing for 356 yards and four touchdowns while leading No. 11 Florida State
to a 41-13 drubbing of Pittsburgh at Heinz Field.

"He played one game. That's it," FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher said. "But he did
a great job. As long as he keeps the process in mind and keeps working with
great habits, everything's going to be fine, and that's what he has to do.
It's not about age. It's about habits. If you have good work habits, you get
results if you have ability."

The redshirt freshman added a rushing touchdown, completed all but two of his
27 attempts and connected with Nick O'Leary for three scores as Florida State
(1-0, 1-0 ACC) outgained the Panthers by a 533-297 margin.

"He did a good job of making plays and extending plays," Pitt head coach Paul
Chryst said of Winston.

It was the season and conference opener for both schools as Pittsburgh (0-1,
0-1) bolted the defunct Big East for the ACC this year.

The Panthers roared out of the gate with a 9-play, 80-yard drive that ended
with Tom Savage and Manasseh Garner hooking up for a 4-yard touchdown on the
game's opening drive.

From there, however, the Seminoles took control.

Savage finished with just 201 yards on 15-of-28 passes and was intercepted
twice, the first setting up O'Leary's 24-yard touchdown grab with 4:11 left in
the opening quarter.

O'Leary added another score early in the second when a play-action fake left
him wide open in the corner of the end zone for a go-ahead 2-yard TD.

Chris Blewitt pulled Pitt within 14-10 with a 28-yard field goal, but the
Seminoles scored two touchdowns in the final 2:13 of the half.

After Winston kept it himself on a 5-yard run to cap a 14-play, 78-yard drive
that took up seven-plus minutes, Terrence Brooks picked off Savage in Pitt
territory. Three plays later, Winston tossed a 23-yard touchdown to Rashad
Greene for a healthy 28-10 Florida State cushion at halftime.

Three field goals accounted for all the points in the third quarter, as
Blewitt made a 39-yarder in between Roberto Aguayo's makes from 22 and 28
yards out.

Winston and O'Leary put an exclamation point on their big night with a 10-yard
scoring strike early in the fourth quarter.

Game Notes

Monday marked just the third time in 41 years that a freshman started at
quarterback on opening day for Florida State ... O'Leary had four catches for
47 yards, while Greene led all receivers with 126 yards on eight receptions
... The ACC consists of 14 teams this season with the addition of Pitt and
Syracuse ... This was the first time the programs met since 1983 ... Pitt
retired Larry Fitzgerald's No. 1 jersey despite the wideout only playing two
seasons for the school.